 |
|
|
Power Projects
MC Elections
CM takes BJP to task
BJP flays Cong for charges against Dhumal
Irregularities in supply of essential commodities
School board directive on textbooks
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Govt yet to get hold of Dera Sacha Sauda land
No-trust vote passed against Kangra MC chief
Simian menace in Sirmaur
From the HPAU Campus
Bridge to open across Beas by June 20
One suspected HIV case
Power project endangered
Penalty of Rs 10,000 imposed on SBI Cards
HPU staff threaten stir
Jakhoo Ropeway
Dhalli Incident
|
|
Power Projects
Shimla, May 24 HIMURJA, the nodal agency for mini hydel projects, had received over 1,600 applications for the projects. The aggregate generation capacity of 168 projects is 290-MW out of which 117 projects with aggregate capacity of 103 MW are under 2 MW each. However, the government amended the power policy on April 30, the last day for submitting applications. While a number of changes have been affected in the policy announced just four months back, the one which affects microhydel projects up to 2 MW the most is the change in eligibility criteria. Under the original policy such projects were exclusively reserved for bonafide Himachali entrepreneurs and in case of more than one applicant preference was to be given to the person of the area or district. This clause has been amended and now there is no preference to the person from the district or the local area. It means that any Himachali could apply for and get any project across the state. While the amendment will provide an opportunity to entrepreneurs from the lower areas of the state, which do not have any hydropower potential, to get projects, it has upset the plans of the applicants. Most of them have applied for projects in their own districts to take advantage of the clause under which applicant from the local area was to get preference in the allotment. Changing the power policy during the course of the allotment process was not only unfair but also illegal. An entrepreneur who has applied for five projects in Shimla district said if the preference clause had not been there he would have chosen better projects in other districts. Similar views were expressed by other applicants who apprehended that if the government went ahead with the process it would lead to unnecessary litigation and further delay in the allotment of projects. The best course to avoid legal wrangles would be to invite fresh applications. Hydro power expert R.L.Justa suggested that in case there were more than one applicant who qualified the financial, technical and presentation for a particular project, the allotment should be made through draw of lots to ensure fair play. Another change in the policy is that the projects which make captive use of power or make third party sales outside the state will be charged royalty at the rate of 12 per cent instead of 18 per cent reckoned after 30 months from the date of signing the implementation agreement. The government has rectified the faults in the policy by amending the clauses pertaining to the tariff-related issues which are under the purview of the State Electricity Regulatory Commission (SERC). Under the amended policy the wheeling charges within and outside the state will be determined by SERC. The final tariff for power generated by the independent power producers will also be determined by the commission after financial closure. The capacity of self-identified projects will be known only after conducting feasibility studies. Almost half of the bids are for self-identified projects indicating that there is still a vast unidentified microhydel potential.
|
|
MC Elections
Shimla, May 24 Counting will be held simultaneously in 12 wards. A total of 69, 340 votes have been polled out of a total electorate of 1.12 lakh. DC Tarun Kapoor said the results would be declared on the loudspeaker near the BSNL office. The information centre of the PR Department would also give latest information. Amongst the seniormost councillors whose fate is sealed in the ballot boxes is Ashok Sood of the Congress. He has contested all five MC elections and won three. The Congress had 16 councillors in the present MC while the BJP had seven. One ward of Summer Hill had been won by the CPM. |
|
CM takes BJP to task
Dughali (Hamirpur), May 24 Attacking BJP candidate and former Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal he alleged that “Dhumal had come to power in 1998 through a conspiracy since the BJP had no mandate to rule as the Congress had emerged the single largest party after the elections.” He said “most of you must not be knowing that it was only after the NDA government assumed power at the Centre that the then Home Minister, L.K Advani, ordered the Governor to administer oath to Dhumal the next day despite the Governor’s dissenting views”. He said “former SSSB chairman S.M Katwal’s conviction has proved that charges of corruption against the Dhumal government were correct. Though Katwal would undergo imprisonment for his follies, the verdict is also a slap on Dhumal’s morality”, he added. Continuing his tirade against the BJP he lambasted the BJP for being soft towards its leaders involved in corruption cases. He said: “The BJP has only suspended its leaders involved in corruption cases while such people should not have any right to be in politics.” He also detailed various development works undertaken in Hamirpur district during the Congress governments. Rajnagar MLA Surender Bhardwaj, who is the Congress in charge in Bamsan, and former MLA Kudeep Pathania also spoke.
|
|
BJP flays Cong for charges against Dhumal
Hamirpur, May 24 Talking to mediapersons here, he said the state government had failed to ensure development of the state during its present term and had no achievement to talk about. To hide their failure, Congress leaders were now levelling personal allegations against Dhumal, but the BJP was firmly behind him and would give appropriate reply to every allegation, he said. He said BJP ministers and MLAs, who had withdrawn support from the Dhumal government, had not only withdrawn the chargesheet, but also clarified that these were raised after some misunderstanding with the Chief Minister. He said, “Before mentioning the Katwal case, the CM should clarify why was ADGP Thind resting at official residence of the Chief Minister when the CBI was looking for him.” He said the CPMT scam was a clear indication of the prevailing corruption under the present regime. It also indicted that several relatives of senior Congress leaders were involved in the scam, he further said.
|
|
Irregularities in supply of essential commodities
Dharamsala, May 24 Tarsem Chaudhary, district inspector of the Food and Civil Supplies Department, said raids were conducted on 10 fair-price shops, three petrol pumps, one gas agency and 13 other shops in the Shahpur tehsil of Kangra district. Irregularities were found in case of five fair-price shops, one gas agency and many other shops. No proper record of public distribution of essential commodities was maintained at five fair-price shops. These shops had been challaned and an inquiry initiated, he added. A team of the Weights and Measures Department, headed by K.L. Dogra, assistant controller of the department, also found many irregularities at various shops in the Shahpur market. Fourteen cylinders of “expiry date” were found at the gas agency run by the Himachal Pradesh Civil Supplies Corporation. The food and civil supply official said that these cylinders had outlived their utility and were unfit for refilling and use by the consumers. Raids were also conducted at many fair-price and other shops at Khaniara, near Dharamsala.
|
|
|
School board directive on textbooks
Dharamsala, May 24 Chairman of the education board B.R. Rahi said there were reports that certain books for schools in English medium were not available with the schools and were out of print. He claimed that the education board was determined to provide all types of school books to children irrespective of any discrimination between private or government schools. Certain private schools in the state had introduced English medium in their curriculum from the current academic session without bringing into the notice of the board authorities. As such, few text books could not be made available by the board to the students who had opted for English medium. The chairman said the board as on date had already distributed text books worth Rs-21 crore among the school students across the state after the beginning of the current academic session, last month. Out of which, 80 per cent of the text books had been distributed free of cost to the deserving students while only 20 per cent had been sold through its book shops.
|
|
Govt yet to get hold of Dera Sacha Sauda land
Chachian (Kangra), May 24 The land had been declared ‘benami’ property of the dera. It was illegally acquired by the dera allegedly in the names of some local people in violation of the Himachal Pradesh Transfer of Land (Regulation) Act, 1968. The dera authorities had acquired 175 kanals of forest and agricultural land by preparing 20 sale deeds in the names of some local people and seven lease deeds in its own name six years ago. Local employee of the dera Pritpal Singh said no orders had been received with regard to the change of ownership or to vacate the land in their possession. He ruled out any possibility of handing over the land to the revenue authorities, saying that they would go in for a legal battle to retain it. Meanwhile, the dera has established an office in the premises and is carrying out some construction work and plantation on the land unfazed by the turbulent situation in Punjab, Haryana, Jammu & Kashmir and a few other parts of the country. Row hits tourism
The arrival of tourists into the hill state has been severely affected by the religious clashes in Punjab and Haryana for the past over one week and the Punjab bandh on Tuesday. Tourism and transport minister G.S. Bali revealed that the arrival of tourists from Punjab and other states had been badly affected in the otherwise peak tourist season due to security concerns ever since the controversy erupted last week. The overall tourist arrivals had come down by at least 60 per cent in the past one week and it might drop further if the issue was not resolved soon, he added. The occupancy rate of hotels had decreased in Shimla, Manali, Dharamsala, revealed sources in the tourism industry. Most of the tourists from West Bengal, Gujarat, Punjab, New Delhi and other parts of the country had cancelled their reservations, said a hotel owner of Dharamsala. |
|
|
No-trust vote passed against Kangra MC chief
Kangra, May 24 Kangra SDM C. Paulrasu told mediapersons in an open ballot, five members Bal Krishen Sharma, Urmila Sharma, Ashok Kumar Sharma, Bhawana Gupta and Ashwani Sharma voted in favour of the no confidence motion and Suman Verma MC Chief, Meenakshi Mehra MC vice-president, Ram Swroop and Naresh Kumar voted against the motion. C. Paulrasu said the MC here was without a president and vice-president now. He said the Kangra Deputy Commissioner had been informed about the developments and new date of voting for the new municipal council chief and vice-president would be notified by the DC. Ashwani Kumar who represented ward number 3 had supported Suman Verma and Meenakshi Mehra for the post of the president and vice-president but before the council could have completed its one-year term, Kumar tilted the balance and supported a group of four members headed by Bal Krishen Sharma on February 26, when all five members moved a no-confidence motion with the Deputy Commissioner. Outgoing MC chief Suman Verma said the people had voted Kumar to MC from ward 3 and defeated Ved Prakash Sharma but shifting of the alliance to Bal Krishen Sharma by Kumar was simply a betrayal of the sentiment of the people of the town.
|
|
|
Simian menace in Sirmaur
Nahan, May 24 The sterilisation drive launched by the state government has not been implemented in the district. Secretary of the Kheti Bachao Sanghrash Samiti, Sirmaur, Avtaar Chandel said the farmers were forced to incur losses due to simian menace. Gorakh Ram, a resident of Shamlah, said monkeys trapped in Shimla district were being released in other areas. He said the step was biased and discriminatory. President of the Sirmaur BJP unit Baldev Bhandari said if the government did not take adequate steps to tackle the problem, the BJP would launch a drive in the state. Vast tracts of land are left uncultivated due to the fear of wild animals and monkeys. Officials of the Agriculture Department have started advising farmers to abandon the traditional system of crops and adopt innovative ways of growing ginger, saffron etc.
|
|
|
From the HPAU Campus
Palampur, May 24 Though he still is in office for one and a half month, yet a hot race has begun for this prestigious post. Three seniormost teachers of the university are vying for the post and are approaching ministers and MLAs. Besides, three agriculture scientists hailing from Himachal Pradesh but presently serving outside the state are also in the race. MoU signed
The HPAU and the Institute of Himalayan Bio-resource Technology (IHBT) have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for the development of transgenic in crop plants. Under this collaborative programme, work will start with the planning and development of transgenic plants, related to problems like the development of resistance against diseases which are caused by atleast four fungal pathogens in pea, cabbage genotypes resistance against diamond back moth and butterfly in cabbage. The university will initiate work on pea and cabbage to enhance and accelerate varietal development, circumventing these divesting diseases and problems. The IHBT will provide gene construction and other physical facilities required for the development of transgenic in these crops by working jointly with the scientists of Advanced Centre of Hill Bio-resources and Biotechnology of the university. He said the MOU was signed for 5 years. Seminar
The Public Relations Society of India (PRSI) Himachal Chapter, organised a seminar on achieving excellence in public relations through information technology intervention to mark National Public Relations Day. Dr H.P.S. Walia, Head of Department of Mass Communication, Punjabi University, presided over the seminar. Workshop held
A workshop on enhancing communication skills was organised at the CSK Himachal Pradesh Agricultural University. Around 60 extension specialists, scientists, officers and public relations professionals of the university participated in the workshop. Review meeting
A two-day annual review meeting of technology mini-mission on integrated development of horticulture in Himachal Pradesh was held at the CSK HP Agricultural University. Vice-chancellor of Dr Y.S. Parmar Horticulture & Forestry University, Solan, Dr Jagmohan Singh was also the chief guest. |
|
|
Bridge to open across Beas by June 20
Manali, May 24 Tourists heading for the Rohtang Pass and coming back from Lahaul and other places uphill from Manali face traffic jams daily for hours. The existing single-lane Bailey bridge built by the British is the only exit route for them. The old bridge is used by commuters and army convoys coming from Leh Ladakh. Engineers are about the launch the bridge from Manali side within two days time. National Highway-21 Manali-Katraian, SDO Thakurdas said they have set June 20 as the deadline to open the Bailey bridge for traffic this season. |
|
|
One suspected HIV case
Kullu, May 24 This was the only district in the state where no case of AIDS was reported. Doctor Chhering, in charge of the AIDS control cell at the Government Hospital, Keylong, confirmed that the blood sample of the person has been sent to IGMC, Shimla, for further tests. He said symptoms of the person were very similar to that of AIDS but it would be confirmed only after the blood test results.
|
|
Power project endangered
Chamba, May 24 If this goes on, it will endanger the existence of the project. The debris being dug out from the hillside for the construction of the road is being thrown into the dam waters. |
|
|
Penalty of Rs 10,000 imposed on SBI Cards
Shimla, May 24 The forum also imposed Rs 1,500 as litigation cost on the company. This order was passed by president of the forum D.K. Sharma on a complaint filed by the complainant. The complainant had a credit card of SBI Cards. But he did not activate the card nor used it. But in January, 2006, he received a statement of accounts in which Rs. 34,035 was shown outstanding against him. The complainant intimated SBI Cards that the said account number did not belong to him and the fraudulent transactions may be got investigated. He further requested SBI Cards to cancel the credit card. He alleged in his complaint that SBI Cards was negligent as instead of rectifying the mistake it was continuously raising dues on the basis of false transactions. The forum further directed SBI Cards to correct the statement of accounts issued to the complainant and cancel the card forthwith. |
|
|
HPU staff threaten stir
Shimla, May 24 Union president Chaudhary Waryam Singh Bains said that seeing the lukewarm and indifferent attitude of the university authorities, the union had been left with no other option but to agitate. “In case the prevailing circumstances continue, the union will be forced to launch a ‘save university campaign’ as further delay in settling the issue will prove to be detrimental for the institute,” he said. He said the authorities had adopted a dilly-dallying attitude towards the demands raised by the union and no action had been taken so far even on the demand charter presented in February, earlier this year. He said no follow up action had been taken on the issues raised by the union after the elections in January. |
|
|
Jakhoo Ropeway
Shimla, May 24 The order was passed by a Division Bench on a public interest litigation filed by Raj Chauhan. The state government apprised the court that the recommendation with regard to the project had already been made to the Central Government for permission for the use of forestland. |
|
|
Dhalli Incident
Shimla, May 24 CPM district secretary Sanjay Chauhan said the group of youth were running a mafia, facing several police cases. “The group is also known as the liquor mafia as they run a parallel liquor sale business illegally,” he said. He added that they had virtually unleashed a reign of terror in Sanjauli and the adjoining area. The CPM leader said what was most disturbing was the fact that the police despite being in the knowhow of their activities was not taking action. “Even yesterday when three CPM activists were brutally attacked by the youth, the police did not intervene,” he lamented. |
|
| HOME PAGE | |
Punjab | Haryana | Jammu & Kashmir |
Himachal Pradesh | Regional Briefs |
Nation | Opinions | | Business | Sports | World | Mailbag | Chandigarh | Ludhiana | Delhi | | Calendar | Weather | Archive | Subscribe | Suggestion | E-mail | |
